EU should hit Russia with more sanctions, says top official

2014-08-28

From wire reports, RIGA

(photo: delfi.lv)

The European Union should impose more sanctions on Russia amid reports there are Russian troop deployments in eastern Ukraine, Latvia's European Affairs Committee Chairwoman Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica has said.

Ukrainian President Petro Proshenko Thrusday said there were Russian troop deployments in the Ukraine. However, Russia denieds the rpeorts and says there's no Russian convoys in the Ukraine.

Kalnina-Lukasevica said the sanctions should be set against arms, modern technologies and finance institutions.

Parliamentary Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ministry, Viktors Makarovs admitted it was necessary to confirm whether Russia's troops are directly involved in military operations in the region.

However, during a meeting of European Affairs Committee meeting members today, Kalnina-Lukasevica said the United States, and Sweden's representatives had already reported on direct Russian military activity in eastern Ukraine. Makarovs admitted that current sanctions will have to be heightened if the claims could be confrmed.

He indicated that the issue concerns a broad list of sanctions, however, he did not provide any specific examples, adding that each step still needs to be discussed with other member states. Further information will be revealed in the coming days.Ukraine will be discussed at the informal meeting of the EU General Affairs Council in Milan, LETA reports.

The Lithuania foreign ministry called the reports of Russian troops in Ukraine an 'open invasion.' Latvia's foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics called on the United Nations to 'act accordingly' amid the reports.

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